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FRED PUKSTA |
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Fred Puksta |
Patience and perseverance paid off
for Fred Puksta For artist/designer Fred Puksta, patience and perseverance was the mantra for many years. Since 1989, Puksta sought a way to
fabricate his sculptural clock project for the Christa McAulliffe
Planetarium in Concord. The Planetarium is New Hampshire's official memorial to Christa McAulliffe. the Concord social studies teacher who served as America's first -Teacher in Space." Since its completion in June of 1990, the Christa McAulliffe Planetarium has been an international showcase attracting more than 110,000 visitors annually from every state in the union and more than 25 foreign countries. In addition to its main goal of education the Planetarium has a goal to exhibit, on both a permanent and temporary basis, original works of art and craftsmanship by New Hampshire and New England artists and artisans. The official NASA portrait of McAulliffe now hangs in the Planetarium lobby as well as other numerous original works of art on a loan basis. In 1989, while the Planetarium was under construction, the New Hampshire State Council on the Arts conducted a "Percent for Art" program to acquire site specific artwork for the Planetarium. More than 40 artists statewide were originally briefed on the project with 26 artists submitting proposals. A small group of finalists were then selected by the Art Selection and Site Advisory Committees. Puksta was among those few finalists. Three Proposals Accepted But because of limited funds, only three artists' proposals were accepted. Through a Conversation with the, then, Planetarium director, Stuart Wallace, Puksta learned that the director felt that Puksta's project was "significant" and thought it would have been a worthy addition to the Planetarium's environment. Puksta asked Wallace if he could find funding for the project at no expense to the Planetarium's fragile operating budget, would Wallace and the Planetarium accept the artwork. Wallace and the Planetarium said "yes", and Puksta then embarked on seeking alternative methods of funding that unknowingly would span four years. This included seeking two more alternative grants from the National Endowment for the Arts that proved unsuccessful. Finally, Puksta decided to take more direct action. He decided to seek corporate and private sponsorship for the commission. After three years of proposal and follow-up work, Puksta finally found 21 private and corporate sponsors that would support the Planetarium and its effort to commission the work. |
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This tall sculptural clock is on permanent display at the Christa McAuliffe Planetarium in Concord, NH. Called "One Moment in Time," the clock was inspired by one of Puksta's elementary school teachers, just as Christa McAuliffe inspired her students. Puksta Found Sponsors Although the majority of these sponsors came from New Hampshire there were also participants from Maine, Massachusetts and as far away as New York and as Washington D.C. Puksta found these private and corporate sponsors to be quite enthusiastic arid generous in their support for the McAuliffe Planetarium and this project. Local New England companies that supported the Planetarium and this project were: Brookstone, CODEM Systems, D.D. Bean & Sons Company, Granite State Hydropower Association, Hitchner Manufacturing Company, Kingsbury Corporation, Markem Corporation, Miniature Precision Bearings, Monadnock Paper Mills, Netherlands Insurance Companies, North Atlantic Energy Service Corporation, Philip Morris USA, Public Service Company of New Hampshire, Southern New Hampshire Hydroelectric Development Corporation, Troy Mills and Yankee Magazine. In addition to corporations, private citizens such as Congressman and Mrs. James C. Cleveland, Mr. arid Mrs. Walter Peterson and Harvey and Christina Hill also supported this project. All the participants, corporate and private, will be listed by laser engraving on a specially crafted plaque created by the trust. This plaque will reside next to the clock in the Planetarium. Mixed Media Piece The artwork itself is a mixed media piece standing eight feet two inches tall. The body of the piece is made of fine curly maple veneer and sets upon a base of black dyed boxwood veneer separated by solid copper molding that has an aquacolored patina. The "head" of the clock rests on two black boxwood triangles that in turn rest on two patined copper columns that are set off by stainless steel rings. The head is set off again by more patined copper and stainless steel and the face of the clock is made of alternate veneers of satinwood and zebrawood. Black aluminum hands keep the time. Gold leaf is used at the interface just below the face and above the black triangles. The inspiration for the sculpture can be found in the symbolism that the piece carries in both the literal and the sublime. At first glance the sculpture's coloring and scale are reminiscent of spacecraft. The sculpture's ability to tell time has many interpretations regarding the age-old relationship between time and space. It also serves a practical function of keeping time for the Planetarium and its 100,000 Plus annual visitors since the Planetarium runs numerous shows a day on a very rigid schedule. But on a more subtle scale the, artist sought to convey a sense of movement departure or separation. In the upper part of the, sculpture. And as a by-product of this seperation that occurred at that "One Moment in Time," from within, "a very precious and enduring material became evident to us (symbolized by the gold), a very beautiful, "spirit," released to us, and the heavens around us," Puksta stated. As in space, time is a relative event for Puksta as well. And even though Puksta will tell you that this project consumed more of his time than he ever imagined, over five years total. He will also tell you, that in retrospect, this project, in its entirety, was a manifestation of the very ideals that McAulliffe and the Challenger Shuttle mission set out to achieve. Ideals of promoting private and corporate involvement in the education of our youth. Because through the combined efforts of the artist, the citizens and companies involved, the Christa McAulliffe Planetarium whose manifest is education, now has more educational aid. On Jan. 23 this sculpture was dedicated and "set" for "universal time" and will be used as an educational exhibit that will discuss the many different aspects of time and space. Puksta, a resident of Peterborough, is a 1977 graduate of Stevens High School, Claremont, and 1981 graduate of the University New Hampshire. He is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Pulksta of Claremont. Copyright: News Leader February 2, 1995 |
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